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And then this happened...

If you're just joining me here, you've already missed the Part I; Part II and Part III of the birth story, you probably should check them out before reading this one. I'm going to continue on from the last timeframe which was 12:00am on Friday 29th.

12:45am Saturday 29th June

The Porter arrived to whisk my bed downstairs to the surgery. It was a fairly bumpy ride, especially getting in and out of the lift, but we made it. I was placed in a curtained area and introduced to a number of staff who would be looking after me. A nurse asked me if I was wearing any jewellery, but we'd already removed my earrings and wedding ring before coming downstairs. Chop was escorted away to get dressed in scrubs, and I was given a red hat to cover my hair. The staff assembled around my bed to move me onto the surgical table, it was a team effort requiring me to roll one way and then roll the other way while they placed a board beneath my back to get me across. I was then wheeled into the operating theatre, and a blue sheet was immediately placed up in front of me at chest height on my body. Chop reappeared and did a little twirl in his full scrubs outfit, making me laugh. They gave him a chair next to me and asked him to not place any part of his body beyond the sheet, as everything below that area was sterilised. He said that there was no chance of that happening because he didn't have any desire to see this operation at all.1:10amSaturday 29th JuneThe anaesthetist sat behind my head and explained that he would be topping up my epidural a little bit more, so I won't feel a thing. Before we knew it, it was happening. I was being jiggled about on the table, and very aware that this probably meant that I was already cut open. I could feel occasionally where I was being touched, but I felt no pain whatsoever. Chop held my hand and talked to me to try to distract me. he said to me "don't worry about what's going on down there, it'll only stress you out", but I wasn't worried at all. I was in the zone. I knew that it wouldn't be long before this epic labour would finally come to an end and our son would be here. The nurse took my phone so she could take some photos with the camera when he was first born.1:19amSaturday 29th JuneI felt an almighty weird suction sensation and then we heard a baby cry, and the voices of the surgical team remarking "woah, he's a big boy!" and "he's got ginger hair!". Chop and I were both in tears. Chop was so happy he has a ginger hair! I couldn't get over hearing our baby crying for the first time. And then Chop was called around to the table where they were cleaning him up, so he could cut the umbilical cord. Little baby was giving everyone a surprise and spraying a wee everywhere. The nurse captured the moment on my camera too! The nurse asked us what we were naming im, and I answered "Eddie, with the middle name Stone, Eddie Stone". Someone said it sounded like a rockstar name.

A wee surprise from the big baby boy!

Chop cutting the umbilical cord

1:25amSaturday 29th JuneThey brought my boy over to meet his Mumma for the first time. What an amazing moment. As soon as I spoke to him, he stopped wriggling around and just looked up at me. He must recognise my voice! I was completely overwhelmed with love. I looked up at Chop who was leaning in next to me, and he was also grinning in awe at our not-so-little bundle. We both had tears in our eyes as we looked at the little scrunched up face peeking at us from the swaddling they had wrapped him in. The nurse took some more photos, and then the staff were ushering Chop and Eddie out of the room (they put Eddie in a little crib on wheels), they mentioned something to Chop about blood in my urine bag and needing to investigate possible damage to my bladder.

Enjoying our first moments together as a family

1:45amSaturday 29th JuneThe Doctor came over to my side of the blue sheet barrier and explained briefly that I had quite a bit of blood present in my urine, and they were concerned that they may have cut my bladder, so they were going to do some exploratory surgery with a camera to see if they can find the cause of the bleeding. I nodded then asked her not to tell me anything about the procedure, and what they were actually doing to me. The next thing I know they're telling me that they will be pulling my body down the bed a bit so that they can place my legs up in stirrups. On the count of three, they did just that. Then I think they painted some stuff on me, and I also felt lots of prodding around my lady parts. At this point my upper body began shaking uncontrollably. This has happened to me every time I have been in recovery after anaesthetic, but in this case it was happening during the actual surgery... the surgery in which I was WIDE AWAKE. The nurse made sure my upper body was warm enough, but I think I'd just gone into shock. The nurse sat on the stool they had for Chop, and began chatting to me about all kinds of general things, to try to keep my mind away from what was actually happening to me.2:15amSaturday 29th JuneI was still shaking, and the extreme tiredness was creeping over me, so I closed my eyes for a few minutes. Unfortunately it's not very relaxing when I could feel my body being jostled around on the table, in a room of about 8 people who were silently working on me. I looked over at the clock and was stunned at how long it was taking. I asked the nurse if she knew how much longer, but she just replied "it shouldn't be too long". Then the Doctor came over to me and said that she was having trouble identifying where the problem is, so she wanted to get a second opinion and they were just waiting for that surgeon to arrive... Oh boy. The second surgeon arrived much quicker than I expected, and then I was being dragged further down the bed and my legs repositioned on the stirrups. I really just wanted this all to be over, and let me get back to my boys. 3:00amSaturday 29th JuneBy this time they were finishing up. The Doctor said to me that they used a camera to have a really good look at my bladder, but they couldn't find any damage at all, and there was no indication about why there was blood in my urine. They were satisfied that I was OK, and there was nothing to worry about. I was then taken to recovery where they allowed me to drink some water (finally!). They assisted to drag me off the surgical bed and onto a regular hospital bed, again using the board. In recovery I struggled to stay awake, as it had now been 45 hours since I last slept!!3:30am Saturday 29th JuneThe porter arrived to wheel me up to the maternity ward. I didn't know what to expect, and I almost assumed that they would've sent Chop home. Silly me, who did I think would be looking after our son? They placed me in a room which already had my bags in it, and hooked me up to a drip so that my body could replenish some fluids. I was extremely dehydrated after the labour. 4:00am Saturday 29th JuneFinally my husband arrived, wheeling in Eddie and placing him on the right hand side of my bed. He had been in the Nursery with him. No one had told him what was going on with me and why it was taking so long, and he was very worried. Once he'd established that I was ok, he went on to tell me that a) he had to give Eddie his first feed using formula, and b) he'd even given him a quick half-bath. Why? a) Well Eddie weighed 4kg 480g, and any baby that weighs close to 4.5 kg or above is tested for gestational diabetes, so they needed to ensure his blood sugar levels were adequate to begin 24 hours of doing prick blood tests on him after feeding. Chop had to sign something to say it was ok to feed his baby formula. In this case, as it was for medical reasons, it was for the best ; b) Eddie had done a mega explosion of black poo that managed to get all up his back, so the nurse suggested the easiest way to fix this would be to 'hose him down', so to speak. Anyway, he arrived all happy, clean and sleeping, and I was so glad to see him again.Chop then produced a little bag from his pocket and gave it to me. Inside was a small gift that completely took me by surprise, and made me cry. He had given me a small pear-shaped pink diamond to celebrate the birth of our first born. I know how rare pink diamonds are, so this just blew me away! He then said that he wanted it to become a family heirloom, I just needed to decide what kind of jewellery to have the diamond set in. He explained that he bought it over a year ago, and was hoping to have it made into a piece of jewellery for me. But when I was made redundant 2 weeks after finding out we were pregnant, and our finances took a major hit, we could no longer afford to do anything more with the stone. What an amazing man! How thoughtful, and loving to go to so much effort to get me such a rare gift to present to me on our son's day of birth. I love Chop so much.4:30amSaturday 29th JuneChop left to go home and get some sleep, and I finally was able to sleep for 2 hours as well. 6:30amSaturday 29th JuneI was woken up at about 6:30am to give Eddie his first feed with breast milk, or at this early stage it was just colostrum. I was a bit nervous, but the midwife talked me through it and he managed to latch on to both sides. My journey as a mother had really begun!

The whole experience, including the gift from Hubby, was completely overwhelming! I'm so glad I've written the story in this blog now, before I forget all the details. I've found that my brain is in a complete fog since becoming a Mum!!!

If you're new to the world of parenthood, or if you want to find some cool family things to do in Melbourne then this blog is for you! Here you will find fun tips, adventures and insights about parenthood.

Hi, my name is Ali. I've overcome infertility and invite you along for the bumpy ride of parenthood. Join me on my mission to make the most of every moment with family!